You've heard about Miami (Ohio) being "The Cradle of Coaches."
You may recall some of the names. It is simply amazing to walk through their Hall of Honor in the lobby of Millett Hall, as I did last night, and look at the photos and the names.
Some we know: Paul Dietzel and Bill Arnsparger, former LSU football coaches and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame members.
Many more we've heard about: Bo Schembechler, the iconic Michigan coach ... his mentor and rival, Woody Hayes of Ohio State ... the Buckeye's current coach, Jim Tressel ... Ara Parseghian of Notre Dame ... Weeb Ewbank of the Joe Namath-led Super Bowl champion New York Jets (Namath is a native of New Castle, PA, BTW) ... Paul Brown, father of Ohio's two NFL franchises and namesake of one ... Sid Gillman, the innovative NFL coach, and a couple I didn't know about, Walter Alston, longtime manager of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, and Randy Ayres, former Ohio State basketball coach ... not to forget the current Miami coach, alumnus Charlie Coles.
Consider this: in 1959, Miami graduates Dietzel (LSU) and Parseghian (Notre Dame) were coaching the Nos. 1 and 2-ranked major college teams in the country, and Brown, Gillman and Ewbank were among the leading coaches in pro football.
There is a page in the media guide full of current coaches and adminstrators from Miami, including Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
Now, back to basketball!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Snow and old home memories
Nearing tip time today for the 500th game (odd how that number comes up again, huh?) at storied Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio ... outside it is snowing. Has been since before dawn, but there's just a light carpet across yards and as of yet, it's not a factor for driving.
That's good since we are rolling out after the game for Indianapolis, stopping for a meal in Richmond, Indiana. So you won't have a quick postgame account here this afternoon; we'll get to that early this evening.
Oxford is the consummate college town. The campus is right next to downtown, and this is quintessential middle America. The main street downtown is brick paved, so it had a little Natchitoches feel to it when we were there last night eating dinner, choosing between an array of small shops. There was even the chance to take horse-drawn carriage rides through the downtown area -- but the lights, while nice, aren't the display we have in Natchitoches.
Coach McConathy has family in the stands today. Connie McConathy's parents graduated from Miami in 1947. Her mom, Alice Hermann, lives in Ruston, where her dad was head of the geology department at Louisiana Tech. Her aunt and uncle are here today and enjoyed hugs with grand-nephews Michael and Logan and visiting with Mike.
Also here today - our good friend Kyle Whelliston of ESPN.com and basketballstate.com ... the nation's premier authority on mid-major basketball. K-Dub, as we call him, also saw the Demons at Indiana and will be in our hometown later this year.
He was in the locker room with the team about a half-hour prior to tip time as Coach Mike sent through pregame stategy.
Another on the friendly faces list - Dr. Rocky Colavito and family, over from Indianapolis, where they have resettled as Rocky was recruited to run a department at Butler University this fall. They miss Natchitoches and NSU mightily. Rocky and son Gavin, who have attended Coach Mike's Parent and Kid camps each summer, are on the Demon bench. Gavin has sprouted up in the time he's been eating good midwestern corn and potatoes this fall!
And the small world department wraps up with this one - Mark Schmetzer, covering the game for the Cincinnati Enquirer and sitting next to our broadcast position, is married to a native of my parents' hometown, Butler, PA, a half-hour north of Pittsburgh. The basketball SID, Angie Renninger, is from nearby New Castle, PA. So we had a lot of warm conversation about that neck of the woods.
For you Steelers' fans - this is the place that gave the NFL Ben Roethlesberger. Big Ben was a very talented RedHawk and his success isn't very surprising to the folks here. It causes quite a conflict for most who are fans of the nearby Bengals.
This, too, is regarded as the Cradle of Coaches. More about that later.
That's good since we are rolling out after the game for Indianapolis, stopping for a meal in Richmond, Indiana. So you won't have a quick postgame account here this afternoon; we'll get to that early this evening.
Oxford is the consummate college town. The campus is right next to downtown, and this is quintessential middle America. The main street downtown is brick paved, so it had a little Natchitoches feel to it when we were there last night eating dinner, choosing between an array of small shops. There was even the chance to take horse-drawn carriage rides through the downtown area -- but the lights, while nice, aren't the display we have in Natchitoches.
Coach McConathy has family in the stands today. Connie McConathy's parents graduated from Miami in 1947. Her mom, Alice Hermann, lives in Ruston, where her dad was head of the geology department at Louisiana Tech. Her aunt and uncle are here today and enjoyed hugs with grand-nephews Michael and Logan and visiting with Mike.
Also here today - our good friend Kyle Whelliston of ESPN.com and basketballstate.com ... the nation's premier authority on mid-major basketball. K-Dub, as we call him, also saw the Demons at Indiana and will be in our hometown later this year.
He was in the locker room with the team about a half-hour prior to tip time as Coach Mike sent through pregame stategy.
Another on the friendly faces list - Dr. Rocky Colavito and family, over from Indianapolis, where they have resettled as Rocky was recruited to run a department at Butler University this fall. They miss Natchitoches and NSU mightily. Rocky and son Gavin, who have attended Coach Mike's Parent and Kid camps each summer, are on the Demon bench. Gavin has sprouted up in the time he's been eating good midwestern corn and potatoes this fall!
And the small world department wraps up with this one - Mark Schmetzer, covering the game for the Cincinnati Enquirer and sitting next to our broadcast position, is married to a native of my parents' hometown, Butler, PA, a half-hour north of Pittsburgh. The basketball SID, Angie Renninger, is from nearby New Castle, PA. So we had a lot of warm conversation about that neck of the woods.
For you Steelers' fans - this is the place that gave the NFL Ben Roethlesberger. Big Ben was a very talented RedHawk and his success isn't very surprising to the folks here. It causes quite a conflict for most who are fans of the nearby Bengals.
This, too, is regarded as the Cradle of Coaches. More about that later.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Snowflakes and our Governor
Of all the traveling I've done in nearly 20 years at NSU, Thursday's experiences were certainly among the most memorable.
It finished as we checked into the hotel amid a snow shower with temperatures dipping into the teens in metropolitan Indianapolis.
That was special. Not just seeing snow again -- Indianapolis is my birthplace. This is my first return as an adult to the city where I spent my first nine weeks many years ago in the brunt of winter.
The Demon basketball team flew in tonight in advance of Saturday afternoon's visit to Oxford, Ohio, on the Indiana border, where NSU will take on a very good Miami University team.
In another brush with my family history, Miami's last game was Wednesday night when it posted a very impressive 68-52 road win at Temple. That's where my dad went to college, classmates with the comedian (and then track star) Bill Cosby. Dad and Mom lived in a tiny apartment over a bar on Philly's famed Broad Street. He graduated in 3 1/2 years with a business degree.
Small world.
It sure seemed so Thursday afternoon as voice of the Demons Patrick Netherton and I sat in the Alexandria International Airport lobby awaiting our flight (the team flew out a little later in the day) and watched Gov. Bobby Jindal and his entourage enter the flight deck.
The security detail was at least a half dozen. As I picked up my chicken salad sandwich at the deli counter, I mentioned to the attendant that we didn't get to see that everyday. She said, well, if you're flying American, you'll see more of him.
Cha-ching!
The governor and his assistant were on our flight to Dallas. He was through security (c'mon, do you really think he and his assistant had to take their shoes off?) a little differently than the rest of us, but that's OK. He was right there in the holding area, working his Blackberry. He wasn't sequestered away from the two dozen other passengers waiting for the flight. His security lingered, but clearly, he was accessible.
Never Fear Netherton stepped forward. His father is a big Jindal supporter, and Patrick used that as his introduction to the affable governor.
I delayed my approach for a little while, so as not to intrude on Patrick. But as soon as it was apparent he wasn't off limits, I wasn't going to pass on the opportunity to visit with Louisiana's leader (and potentially, a future President; when he visited Natchitoches in October to speak at a fundraiser for Sen. Gerald Long in the Natchitoches Events Center banquet hall, musician Steve Wells struck up "Hail to the Chief" as Jindal took the podium, and that earned a grin and a quip from the fast-rising political star).
We immediately continued a discussion on NSU and the Demon basketball program. The governor was very impressed to learn about the tremendous graduation rate and academic successes. He was very interested to hear about the team's travel, and how the coaches ensure that the team visits historic and notable landmarks on road trips (stops have included the Oklahoma City Memorial, Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Hanauma Bay National Park and the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii). He was pleased to find out that Coach McConathy's recruiting philosophy is home-based, that nearly 80 percent of our roster year after year is from in-state. From his days as head of the University of Louisiana system, he was very familiar with the challenges that state universities face, and expressed his belief that recent logical in-state matchups like NSU-Grambling in football, Grambling-La. Tech in basketball, McNeese-ULL in football could become more commonplace.
He was pleasant, relaxed, quick to laugh and very focused on our conversation when there had to be a million other issues tracking in his mind. The captain of our American Airlines flight approached us to greet him, and apologized for interrupting our conversation. I told him that we didn't mind, that in this case HE was truly the most important person among us!
Not long afterward, the governor and his assistant, sans a security detail, were able to board the plane. I couldn't resist tempation. As we boarded, and made our way down the aisle past them on the commuter jet, I handed them a Demon basketball media guide opened to the first page, which lists the academic and athletic highlights of the first decade under Coach Mike.
"I wouldn't be much of a PR guy if I didn't give y'all this," I said. They laughed, and the governor dove into his sandwich, one that looked just like mine from an hour earlier.
He's not a "regular guy." Regardless of how you see his politics -- and he was off to San Antonio for a political event, then on to Houston (he bemoaned the fact that he would see little of the Alamo city save for a banquet hall) -- you have to admire his command of his surroundings and far-reaching grasp of complex issues and the simpler things in life. He is extraordinary.
I didn't delve into his professed passion for LSU football (too painful a topic this week), but I came away from our conversations at the Alexandria airport and then again at DFW with great appreciation for his people skills. Charisma is one quality some great leaders have. Connectivity with people from all walks of life is an even more rare attribute. He's got that, too.
For the 10 minutes or so we spent visiting in two airports, he did, indeed, seem quite the "regular guy." That's no small feat for a relatively young man who may someday, perhaps sooner than later, live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Doug Ireland, SID
It finished as we checked into the hotel amid a snow shower with temperatures dipping into the teens in metropolitan Indianapolis.
That was special. Not just seeing snow again -- Indianapolis is my birthplace. This is my first return as an adult to the city where I spent my first nine weeks many years ago in the brunt of winter.
The Demon basketball team flew in tonight in advance of Saturday afternoon's visit to Oxford, Ohio, on the Indiana border, where NSU will take on a very good Miami University team.
In another brush with my family history, Miami's last game was Wednesday night when it posted a very impressive 68-52 road win at Temple. That's where my dad went to college, classmates with the comedian (and then track star) Bill Cosby. Dad and Mom lived in a tiny apartment over a bar on Philly's famed Broad Street. He graduated in 3 1/2 years with a business degree.
Small world.
It sure seemed so Thursday afternoon as voice of the Demons Patrick Netherton and I sat in the Alexandria International Airport lobby awaiting our flight (the team flew out a little later in the day) and watched Gov. Bobby Jindal and his entourage enter the flight deck.
The security detail was at least a half dozen. As I picked up my chicken salad sandwich at the deli counter, I mentioned to the attendant that we didn't get to see that everyday. She said, well, if you're flying American, you'll see more of him.
Cha-ching!
The governor and his assistant were on our flight to Dallas. He was through security (c'mon, do you really think he and his assistant had to take their shoes off?) a little differently than the rest of us, but that's OK. He was right there in the holding area, working his Blackberry. He wasn't sequestered away from the two dozen other passengers waiting for the flight. His security lingered, but clearly, he was accessible.
Never Fear Netherton stepped forward. His father is a big Jindal supporter, and Patrick used that as his introduction to the affable governor.
I delayed my approach for a little while, so as not to intrude on Patrick. But as soon as it was apparent he wasn't off limits, I wasn't going to pass on the opportunity to visit with Louisiana's leader (and potentially, a future President; when he visited Natchitoches in October to speak at a fundraiser for Sen. Gerald Long in the Natchitoches Events Center banquet hall, musician Steve Wells struck up "Hail to the Chief" as Jindal took the podium, and that earned a grin and a quip from the fast-rising political star).
We immediately continued a discussion on NSU and the Demon basketball program. The governor was very impressed to learn about the tremendous graduation rate and academic successes. He was very interested to hear about the team's travel, and how the coaches ensure that the team visits historic and notable landmarks on road trips (stops have included the Oklahoma City Memorial, Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Hanauma Bay National Park and the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii). He was pleased to find out that Coach McConathy's recruiting philosophy is home-based, that nearly 80 percent of our roster year after year is from in-state. From his days as head of the University of Louisiana system, he was very familiar with the challenges that state universities face, and expressed his belief that recent logical in-state matchups like NSU-Grambling in football, Grambling-La. Tech in basketball, McNeese-ULL in football could become more commonplace.
He was pleasant, relaxed, quick to laugh and very focused on our conversation when there had to be a million other issues tracking in his mind. The captain of our American Airlines flight approached us to greet him, and apologized for interrupting our conversation. I told him that we didn't mind, that in this case HE was truly the most important person among us!
Not long afterward, the governor and his assistant, sans a security detail, were able to board the plane. I couldn't resist tempation. As we boarded, and made our way down the aisle past them on the commuter jet, I handed them a Demon basketball media guide opened to the first page, which lists the academic and athletic highlights of the first decade under Coach Mike.
"I wouldn't be much of a PR guy if I didn't give y'all this," I said. They laughed, and the governor dove into his sandwich, one that looked just like mine from an hour earlier.
He's not a "regular guy." Regardless of how you see his politics -- and he was off to San Antonio for a political event, then on to Houston (he bemoaned the fact that he would see little of the Alamo city save for a banquet hall) -- you have to admire his command of his surroundings and far-reaching grasp of complex issues and the simpler things in life. He is extraordinary.
I didn't delve into his professed passion for LSU football (too painful a topic this week), but I came away from our conversations at the Alexandria airport and then again at DFW with great appreciation for his people skills. Charisma is one quality some great leaders have. Connectivity with people from all walks of life is an even more rare attribute. He's got that, too.
For the 10 minutes or so we spent visiting in two airports, he did, indeed, seem quite the "regular guy." That's no small feat for a relatively young man who may someday, perhaps sooner than later, live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Doug Ireland, SID
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